


places we won't be found

by Solanaceae



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: AKA my fave AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Archaeology, F/F, Tolkien Secret Santa 2016, aka Elenwe as queen of Gondolin AU, or more like me faking any sort of knowledge thereof, sorry man i do geology not archaeology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 18:56:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9002710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solanaceae/pseuds/Solanaceae
Summary: Aredhel and Elenwe explore something strange in the woods of the Hidden Vale.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sigridhr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sigridhr/gifts).



Night came swiftly over the dig site. In the shadow of the mountains, dusk was a cool blue sea, reaching out across the grasslands and back towards the city. Aredhel stood from her work, rubbing at tired eyes with the back of her hand and wincing when dust ground against sensitive skin. 

It had been two weeks since the mother and child had come to Elenwë’s court, bearing a shard of strangely patterned pottery. The child had explained how she had been exploring in the forests that hugged the side of the mountains when she had happened across it. 

Elenwë had taken the shard in her hands, turned it over and over in her pale fingers, examining the red baked clay and the bizarre white markings. Then she had looked up at the child and asked her to show her where she had found it.

Now, the trail from the edge of the forest to the clearing was well-trodden. Elenwë had ordered tents to be set up so that she would not have to return to the city every night. Aredhel and a few other strong elves helped carefully dig, while Elenwë and another historian sketched and noted down where each shard and artifact was found. 

And there were many to be found. Aredhel often wondered if they had stumbled upon an entirely separate city, from the number of half-shattered jars and beads and all the other detritus of everyday living that had been found. Just yesterday, they had uncovered the cornerstone of a building, a rough and crumbling hunk of pale brown stone. Elenwë thought that perhaps they would find more buildings if they kept moving east.

Aredhel kicked a pebble aside, then turned towards the pale figure sitting on a boulder nearby. Elenwë was hunched over her sketchbook, pencil racing in the failing light. “You ought to do that by lamplight.”

Her queen nodded, not looking up from her paper. “Once I’ve gotten this last placement down. I don’t want to leave it overnight, something could change.”

“Elenwë.”

“Yes?”

“Come inside.”

With a long-suffering sigh, Elenwë closed her sketchbook, sticking her pencil into the binding. “Very well.” She stood and followed Aredhel into their shared tent.

Inside, two sleeping rolls lay, a few inches from each other. Scattered throughout were hand-embroidered cushions and blankets, gifts from grateful subjects. Elenwë sank down amid the cushions with a sigh.

“I’m sore all over,” she mumbled, yawning. 

“Tell me about it.” Aredhel’s shoulders were sore, her back ached... the list went on and on. 

Elenwë looked concerned. “You aren’t pushing yourself too much, are you? I can send for more people to dig--”

“Nay, I can manage.” She smiled. “Anything for your little excavation.” It was good, she thought, for Elenwë to get out of the court of Gondolin for a time, take a few days to herself. Perhaps the queen of Gondolin could manage petty politics well enough to fool an outside viewer, but Aredhel’s more - intimate view told her that it placed a great deal of strain on her.

Now, though, Elenwë seemed to glow with new energy, a spring in her step and a light in her gaze. Aredhel did not know where this fascination with history had come from, only that even back in Valinor, Elenwë had never been happier than when she was nose-deep in some ancient tome. 

“Just imagine what sort of people might have lived in the Hidden Vale before we came.” Elenwë’s eyes practically shone with excitement. “Some Silvan tribe, perhaps, or maybe dwarves--”

Aredhel smiled. “Which do you think it was?”

Elenwë looked down at her sketchbook, rubbing her fingers along the binding. “It could be either. I have never seen anything like what is inscribed on these jars. I wish there was some reliable way to tell how old they are, that would clear much up.”

She leaned back against the cushions, blonde hair falling in front of her face. Aredhel reached out, brushed a lock of it aside, and pressed a soft kiss to Elenwë’s lips. 

“I’m sure that we will figure out some way of dating these artifacts of yours.”

“Oh, do not worry. I will.” Elenwë’s hand crept up Aredhel’s arm, touch feather-light. She tilted her face upwards in invitation, and Aredhel bent to claim her lips again. Elenwë tasted sweet, like cool spring water.

They sank down onto the bedroll together, hands tangling in each other’s hair as their kiss grew more heated. Elenwë reached down and began to undo the catches on Aredhel’s shirt, exposing her breasts to the warm air of the tent.

Aredhel slipped a hand between the layers of Elenwë’s skirt, seeking the warm skin of her thigh. She felt Elenwë shiver under her touch, breath coming faster.

Then Elenwë shot upright, pulling away. “I’ve got it!”

“You - what?” Aredhel blinked, startled. A draft through the tent flap sent her shivering and reaching for a blanket to cover her bare shoulders. Elenwë scrambled over to where her sketchbook lay.

“How to date the artifacts. Well, relative to each other, anyway.” She paged through her sketchbook to an empty page, then started scribbling. 

Aredhel waited. When only the sound of pencil against paper broke the silence, she ventured, “So, your idea is...?”

“If we look at the layering of the rock, we can see which artifacts came when. And if there’s been a ditch dug, then we can see what layers it’s crosscut and which ones - it’s basic superposition, really, I should call in some miners to see what they can say about the rocks.” 

Aredhel smiled. Elenwë looked up.

“What?”

“Nothing.” _Only that you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen._ She buttoned her shirt back up, moving to where Elenwë sat. “Now, does this mean I have to be even more careful when digging?”


End file.
